I shook my head. “Never.”
“Well, that’s good to know. So let’s go from there. I know I said something shitty, but I would never intentionally hurt you, Charlie. I will protect you with everything I have. What are you scared of?”
“Not having control… of having her take something from me…”
“She’s gone. She won’t get near you again. We’ve made sure of that. And I promise on my life, I will keep you safe.”
A whimper fell from me as Fern left me on my own while she went to fill the bath. A few minutes later, she came back, holding out her hand for me. Her touch felt so familiar and when Jennifer was in front of me, Fern’s hand in mine kept me grounded and safe.
Guiding me to the bathroom, she let go, stepping away from me. “I’ll leave you to get changed.”
“Don’t.” I wrapped my fingers around her wrist. “Don’t leave me.”God, I sound pathetic.
She nodded, pointing to my shirt. “I don’t want to do anything to make you feel worse,” she whispered.
I struggled with my buttons, eventually taking it off and handing it to Fern. “Put it on… you must be freezing in just that dress.”
She looked down at her ballgown that she was still wearing. “It would be good to feel like I can breathe. It’s so tight.”
“You look beautiful. I should have said that earlier.”
“Shush. Get in the bath… lay back and relax.” She smiled, pulling a soft laugh from me as we both stared at the tiny bathtub.
“I’ll just go, get changed and I’ll be right back.” She stepped out of the room and I kicked off the rest of my clothes and sank into the bath, feeling instantly better.
“Knock knock.” Fern stepped into the room. “Jarrid has some things for us that Fox and Archer packed, so it might be thongs and odd socks.”
I laughed again, and it felt nice.God, I’ve missed her.
“It’ll be here later today.”
Then her words hit me. “You’re staying?”
“As long as you want me to.”
I pushed my hands through the warm water because I felt terrible asking her to stay just because I was pathetic and weak.
“Hey,” she whispered. “Don’t do that. I can see you thinking. I want to be here. No matter whether you want to be with me or not, I want to be your friend, Charlie. I want to help you.”
Fern
Charlie insisted we shared the bed, but I’d not slept a wink. I worried about him, listening to his cries and whimpers, sweat gathering across his forehead as he tossed and turned. I gave up on sleep completely when my phone beeped, telling me that Jarrid was outside.
I shivered as I climbed out of bed, hoping the boys packed me something warm and cozy to wear because, although it was summer in the rest of the country, in our little lighthouse, it was still cold and stormy.
“Hey, you good?” Jarrid asked as I opened the door.
I nodded. “Cold and tired, but otherwise, all good.”
“Neo and Addi packed for you because, well, the boys couldn’t be trusted to pack anything you might actually need.”
Laughing, I stepped to the side, letting him in.
“There’s a food delivery coming later, but I’ll come with them and then we’ll leave you to it, but I’m at the house, just like lasttime.” He paused. “Charlie… is he okay? Do you need me to do anything to help?”
“The stories about the woman that married his dad.”
“Sean and Neo are on it.”